Continuing theme of his May 17 Public Comments to the County Supervisors, Joe Longo resigns from the Planning Commission

Shenandoah Farms resident Joe Longo has notified Warren County Planning Director Matt Wendling of his resignation, effective immediately, from the county planning commission. Longo was appointed about two-and-a-half years ago by Shenandoah District Supervisor Walt Mabe to replace fellow POSF officer Ralph Rinaldi when Rinaldi was elected to the Warren County School Board. This week Longo contacted Royal Examiner about his resignation, which he said he gave to Wendling verbally when informed by the planning director he could not read a prepared statement on the reasons for his resignation into the planning commission meeting record of June 8.

Longo shared a draft of the statement he had intended to make at tonight’s planning commission meeting with Royal Examiner. It echoes points he made during Public Comments at the May 17 Board of Supervisors meeting regarding the future, and past, of Shenandoah Farms Sanitary District management in the wake of the POSF (Property Owners of Shenandoah Farms LLC) notice of intent to terminate the 2011 Sanitary District Management Agreement between the POSF and County. That 2011 mutually reached agreement handed direct Sanitary District project management over to the County with a right of termination by either party with 90 days’ notice. See: County supervisors ponder Shenandoah Farms residents divide over Sanitary District Management initiative

That termination of the existing agreement is slated to take effect at the end of the month, at which point the POSF had anticipated regaining direct Sanitary District project management authority with the July 1 start of the new fiscal year. But with the County and POSF appearing to remain on a collision course over future project management decision-making authority and suspicion the County has misappropriated use of Farms Sanitary District Tax revenue to outside the district uses, Longo has chosen to opt out of continued involvement in County business.

“I am resigning my position with the Planning Commission. My community property owners association, of which I’m an elected board member, has strong evidence that the county government is embezzling money from our community. I feel I can no longer be a part of what appears to be operating like a criminal organization. The County powers-that-be have decided that the Shenandoah Farms Property Owners Corporation that has been operating for more than 60 years is illegitimate. They intend to seize our 300 acres of park area and charge us for back taxes.

“I don’t know whether this is being done out of incompetence, greed, or desperation but we are taking legal action to protect our community and our homes,” Longo’s handwritten statement concludes.

On May 17, long-time POSF Board member Joe Longo took the analysis and criticism of the County’s current Sanitary District management up a notch with a conclusion of possible embezzlement of Farms Sanitary District tax revenue to other County uses. On May 17, Board Chair Cheryl Cullers, below, initially expressed appreciation of the strong public turnout, at least prior to hearing what most of those speaking had to say about the board’s treatment of them and their elected property owners board of directors.

As reported in Royal Examiner’s story on the May 17 POSF membership and supporters’ push back against being cut out of the future of Sanitary District project management, prior to 2011 the POSF had been acting as Sanitary District Manager since the district’s inception in 1995. In fact, Longo noted he had served as the first hands-on Sanitary District Manager. See: Farms POSF board members, supporters ask supervisors hard questions on Sanitary District management transfer strategy

At its morning meeting on June 7 this week, the board of supervisors cited a work session scheduled for next Tuesday, June 14, at 6:00 pm at the Warren County Government Center. That work session will begin with issues surrounding the Public Schools FY-2023 Budget, followed by other topics, including the future of the Farms Sanitary District management.

Board Chair Cheryl Cullers commented that while there would be no direct question-and-answer period regarding the Farms situation, questions could be pre-submitted to staff allowing answers to be formulated by the board or staff prior to the meeting. Legal issues surrounding the coming management strategy have been the topic of several board Closed/Executive Sessions in recent weeks, including on June 7 as during the open session County Administrator Ed Daley informed the board it would be.

It was also mentioned in yesterday’s meeting discussion that the County had received four applications for its soon-to-be-appointed Farms citizen “Advisory Board” the supervisors are poised to create as an apparent alternative to POSF involvement in project management of the Shenandoah Farms Sanitary District.

And with Longo’s above statement’s notice that some in the Farms are taking “legal action to protect our community and our homes” it appears things are poised to get very interesting and perhaps legally contentious on the Shenandoah Farms Sanitary District financial and management fronts as the June 30th termination of the existing POSF-County Management Agreement approaches.

Stay tuned …

Click here to watch the June 7, 2022, Warren County Board of Supervisors meeting.